Friday 31 August 2012

SocGen Says Qatar QNB Is in Talks to Buy Its Egyptian Unit - Businessweek

Qatar National Bank (QNBS) is in talks to buy a majority stake in Societe Generale SA (GLE)’s Egyptian unit as it seeks to expand overseas to boost profit.

Negotiations to buy the Paris-based company’s 77.2 percent stake in National Societe Generale Bank SAE (NSGB) are at an early stage, Cairo-based NSGB, Egypt’s second-largest publicly traded bank, said today in a statement. The holding currently has a value of about 10.8 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.77 billion), based on NSGB’s 14 billion-pound market capitalization.

Qatar National Bank said in April it had a five-year plan to make itself an “icon” in the Middle East and Africa by expansion and “diversifying income sources.” The lender said today it raised its stake in Dubai-based Commercial Bank International PCS (CBI) to 39.9 percent from 16.5 percent. NSGB rose 0.2 percent to 31.61 Egyptian pounds in Cairo before the announcement, which came after the close of trading.

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